Michael Meffie Jr
Age - 80
December 2, 2023
Michael Anthony Meffie, Jr. October 17, 1943 - November 28, 2023 (age 80) Mike passed away at the age of eighty after a courageous battle with cancer. He is survived by the love of his life, his wife of almost sixty years, Diana Gail (Manda) Meffie, with whom he started "going steady" at the age of sixteen and spent nearly every day and night of his entire adult life. He was born in Canton, Ohio, the son of an Italian immigrant from the family's ancestral village of Torello del Sanio, in the Campobasso region of Italy, named Michele Meffe, who worked for 25 years at Diebold and preceded him in death in 1967. Mike was preceded by his mother, Raphael (Gennetti) Meffe, known as "Ray," who worked as a housekeeper at the Onesto Hotel and raised Michael and his three older sisters Rose Marie Micciche, Barbara Ann Vitale, and Shirley Duckworth, all of whom have preceded him in death. He received his primary education from the nuns at Saint Anthony's Parochial School, in Canton's historically Italian neighborhood, where his lifelong love of learning was instilled. He was a bright student who excelled in all subjects and graduated from Timken Vocational High School at the top of his welding class. At the age of eighteen, Mike followed his dad to work at Diebold, where he acquired a great reputation for his impeccable overhead welding on some of the nation's largest and most impressive bank vaults. He retired from Diebold after fifteen years to pursue a high school teaching career, and to grow the electrical contracting firm started by his friend and colleague Sundy LeButt. Mike was a vocational educator at Timken Senior High School for twenty-five years, where he trained hundreds of young students for careers as welders, electricians, and entrepreneurs. He was always a firm believer in the value of vocational education. He oversaw the Timken Vocational and Industrial Club and received numerous awards over his teaching career, including Perfect Attendance and Best Dressed. With his brother-in-law Allan Manda on board for more than forty years, Mike operated Meffie Electric Company, which wired and rewired much of the residential and commercial properties in Stark County. He was a brilliant Master Electrician with a craftsman's ethos and affordable prices. He is remembered as always cheerful, organized and reliable. He knew every street and every intersection, and could point at just about any house and tell a story about the service upgrade and the family who lived there. He loved bouncing around his hometown in his van and encountering folks every day. He was gregarious, curious, and could find something interesting in nearly everyone he met. He had a special affinity with the working class and immigrants; he always patronized the local small businesses and family-run restaurants in Canton, and had a reputation for paying cash and leaving generous tips. Michael lived his life in service to his family and his community. He was up for work every weekday at 5:00 AM until the very last days of his life. From the day in the 1950's when he started shining shoes in a downtown pool hall, until the last electric car charger was wired in 2023, he worked every day in order to create stability, comforts, and opportunities for his family, to support his friends and his church, and to pay for the occasional bespoke suit or black Cadillac. He never wavered in his belief in The American Dream, and he demonstrated with hard hands-on work, frugality, self-sacrifice, and a commitment to teaching others valuable skills. He built his own solid house from the ground up, inside the city limits, and ensured that all three of his children received quality college educations. He received numerous awards for his service over the years, including the Golden Hammer Award from Habitat for Humanity. In addition to being survived by his wife Diana, Mike is survived by his children: son Michael A. Meffie III and his wife Carol (Ferris) Meffie, Christopher J. Meffie and wife Teresa L. Shupe, Veronica Frank Miller and her husband Daren Miller. He was preceded in death in 2009 by son-in-law Edmond J. Frank. Mike is also survived by his grandchildren: Michael A. Meffie IV, Helen E. Meffie, Mira Rose Shupe, Rachael M. Frank, Aaron J. Miller, Jason C. Miller, and Blake L. Miller, brother-in-law Joseph R. Micciche, and a multitude of nieces and nephews. Family and friends will be received at the Rossi Family Funeral Home on Tuesday December 5th, from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Memorial Services to begin in the funeral home at 4:00 PM.
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